


sweetener & preservatives

by ascience



Category: Football RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: Fluff, German National Team, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-21
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-02 17:59:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2821196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ascience/pseuds/ascience
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>Benni’s lips probably taste like sugar right now</em>, Mats catches himself pondering, followed by, <em>What. What?</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	sweetener & preservatives

“A literal truck load,” Mario says, amazed as if he was looking at a rainbow.

But he’s totally in the right with that, Mats thinks, considering they’ve just received their gratuitous supply of special edition Coca Cola cans, the ones made for the World Cup with their own names and signatures on them.

The delivery guys had simply dumped the huge pallets in the driveway of the hotel the team was staying at and as soon as the news had spread everybody had gathered around them, in safe distance though as no one wanted to be the one to open the packages first, in case Jogi didn’t agree with them drinking the cans up.

Jogi arrives in the driveway as well, three minutes late with a pair of sunglasses and a cup of coffee and makes a shallow motion with his hand to give them permission to take out the cans.

Mats looks at Benni who is standing next to him and a grin spreads across Benni’s face before the both of them are the first to pounce on the delivery and tear open the plastic to throw out cans for the others to catch.

Mats has to laugh at how easy grown men can be turned into excited little boys as everyone scrambles to find a can with their own name on it to drink and take silly pictures with.

They’re not usually allowed much of this stuff on their diets so it’s amazing to indulge, feeling the coke eat away at their teeth.

Mats digs out a can with Benni’s as well as his own name and hands Benni the first one. They sit down on the pavement with their drinks and watch Toni get sprayed with at least two litres Coca Cola as Jogi just turns around and walks into the house without a comment. Probably to cry.

The way they’re sitting next to each other, it’s like a picnic without food, so... a pretty bad picnic but the sun is shining and Mats and Benni can lean against stacked cans and just chill. Mats’ favourite way to waste time.

Benni throws back his head to get the last drops out of the can and Mats can’t help but watch his Adam’s apple move and he gulps.

It gets worse though when Benni reaches behind them, pulls out a new can (randomly probably but _maybe_ not) and opens it with a sizzling sound. He holds it away from his body so Mats can see what’s written on the side of the can.

 _Mats_ , it says this time, not _Benedikt_ , and suddenly Mats can hear the beat of his own heart resounding in his ears like this is something that should matter to any ordinary person. It shouldn’t, most likely. It’s just a can of Coca Cola.

“Man, this is good stuff!” Benni says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

 _It is_ , Mats thinks, _but we’re not talking about the same ‘stuff’._

“It’s everyday coke, Bene.” he replies, rolling his eyes. “And you told me you don’t even really like coke.”

Benni shrugs and taps his index finger on the white writing on the side of the can. On Mats’ name.

“I know,” he says, “but these have our names on them, like, it’s cool!”

As if to prove how cool, he lifts the can and drinks the rest of the coke in just a couple of swigs.

As he sets it down again with a noise of satisfaction, his lips are glistening wet.

 _I’m fucked_ , Mats thinks and bites his tongue.

\--

The things is, it happens again and it leaves Mats absolutely, undeniably wrecked. Frankly, it lacks logic because he _has_ seen Benni drink before obviously, cola and from cans as well, and maybe he’s had that general gut feeling of attraction for a while now but Benni with a can in his hand that says _Mats_ for everyone to see – it invokes emotions Mats never even knew he fucking had.

\--

They come back to the stacked cans the evening of the next day, when they have to get snacks and drinks for their impromptu and - looking at their training plans - probably illegal poker night.

Mats dumps a couple of cans into a box and already starts walking back to the conference room but Benni still lingers over the pallets and digs through the pile.

He certainly seems to have an objective this time and when he catches up with Mats, twiddling a _Mats_ can in his hands, it has to be on purpose.

Mats shoots him an angry look but Benni is either too dumb or too shrewd to react and instead cuts his finger when he tries to open the can.

“Ow, shit,” he says and sucks in his breath but still holds onto the can like it’s a ticket to Disneyland.

“You’re such a clumsy fool,” Mats say, but lovingly, sets down his box and inspects Benni’s finger in the low light of the outdoor lamps.

The tiniest drop of blood shimmers on the tip and for a weird-ass moment, Mats has the reflex to suck on Benni’s finger like he would if it was his own.

Grossed out by his own thoughts, Mats quickly drops Benni’s hand and picks up the box again.

“Uh, you’re fine.”

Benni laughs and opens the can with the other hand, surprisingly quickly and skilfully. “Where did _you_ get your medical degree?”

“At the University of St. _Shut the Fuck up_ in the ancient city of _Which Dumbass Just Cut Themselves_ in the state of _It Sure As Hell Wasn’t Me_.”

Mats is satisfied to see Benni laugh so hard he spits out half the coke he just tried to drink, even when the joke wasn’t particularly funny.

“Whatever, Dr Hummels,” Benni says mockingly when he has calmed down and nips at the can again. Under his spread fingers, Mats can see his own name in white letters peak through.

 _Benni’s lips probably taste like sugar right now_ , Mats catches himself pondering, followed by, _What. What?_

\--

Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is... enemy action?

Benni invites Mats to Gelsenkirchen on their break not much later and somehow – Mats has trouble recalling it the next day when he wakes up on Benni’s couch with Benni sleeping next to him – they end up in some packed club that apparently hopes to attract customers with the new business scheme of rapidly flashing lights, charts music and the smell of sweat.

But it doesn’t bother Mats at all because Benni and he dance on the crowded floor and he can always blame the other people shoving when he bumps into Benni too often.

Benni looks mouth-wateringly good with his stubble and a plain, grey shirt, wearing sunglasses inside ( _douchey_ , Mats thinks, then _hot_ ).

Benni says something but Mats can’t hear him over the loud beats and shouts, “What?”

“What?”

“What did you say?”

“I said we should get some drinks, I’m drying out over here!”

Mats nods and sways his hips one last time before they squeeze their way through the crowd to the bar.

Mats lets Benni order the drinks since Benni has paid for everything so far which basically, technically, _let-Mats-have-this-one_ -ally makes this evening a date.  
Benni asks for two cokes and Mats rolls his eyes at Benni’s new-found addiction to that sugar water.

As the barkeeper starts pouring two glasses of cola, Benni stops her with a wave of his hand.

“Do you have cans?” he asks and the woman nods shyly. Mats frowns and fears the worst-slash-best when she asks whether Benni wants any specific names on the cans.

Benni doesn’t even think for a second before he answers but he looks at Mats while he does it.

“Uhm, Mats and Benedikt, please.”

The barkeeper hands over the cans and Benni - of course he does – Benni keeps the _Mats_ one for himself.

Mats watches Benni’s nimble fingers open the tab through the light flashes of the club and he’s so distracted he doesn’t even think about the can in his own hand.

Benni tips his head back and closes his eyes as he drinks and makes almost obscene noises that have to be pretty loud since Mats can clearly hear them even over the booming music.

Mats can feel his cheeks burn and he looks at the ground to hide the blush.

When he looks up again, Benni thoughtfully strokes across the letters of Mats’ name on the can and Mats thinks he might just about _die_.

“Do you know what the difference between Coke zero and Coke light is?” Benni asks suddenly and Mats has trouble sorting through the words in his head because there are other things he’s thinking about right now than fucking Coca Cola. Like the way Benni’s eyes reflect the light and the way Mats can catch glimpses of his freckles in the flashes.

Mats feels drunk, more than he should after the little he drank before they came here.

“Huh?” he says intelligently and Benni chuckles.

“It’s pretty interesting actually, like, they made Coke light for women and it tastes a little different,” Benni starts and narrates the history of capitalism with sweeping gestures. Mats has a hard time concentrating because Benni clutches the can with his name the whole time and Benni’s words are like thick honey in his ears.

At some point, Benni stops talking but Mats only notices because he puts away the can and looks at Mats expectantly.

“Yeah, that’s... great.” Mats says slowly and is proud of how he gets a grip on himself, “I especially liked the part where Napoleon rode on a unicorn and shot that dinosaur right into the head. I almost cried.”

Benni looks at Mats like he can’t decide where to laugh or shake his head. He settles on a mix of the two.

“You suck so much, Mats. So much.”

“You’re the Coca Cola nerd, so...” Mats shrugs and shoots Benni a smug smile.

They stand next to each other, watching the dance floor and Benni occasionally lifts his can to his mouth and nips.

Mats can’t even explain why it gets him hot to see Benni drink from a container that’s labelled with his own name but he also can’t explain why Benni keeps doing it so that’s sort of where he’s stuck.

As the night grows older and Mats grows more and more desperate to make this one a night to remember, he takes a step closer to Benni and opens his own can.

He makes sure Benni looks at him, as he starts drinking, basically sucking at the opening of the can and moving his hand up and down, across the _Benedikt_ on the side.

It’s not one of Mats’ proudest moments but not one of his most humiliating ones either, so he figures he’s good for now, putting on a show for Benni, just to see what reaction he can get out of him.

Benni doesn’t blink an eye.

Well, he _does_ look at Mats weirdly at the point where Mats licks from the top to the bottom of the can once but knowing Benni, it’s probably just because he’s concerned about germs or lead poisoning or some shit like that.

Mats dumps the can on the floor where a few drops of coke spill on his green sneakers and drags Benni on the dance floor again.

\--

Mats sets up a trap.

He invites Benni over to his house and gets the whole set of cans with names from the national team to store in his fridge.

(“You’re obsessed,” Marco says as he helps Mats carry the cola, “I just don’t know whether it’s an obsession with Coca Cola or with Benni.”)

Mats puts on some mindless action movie for them to watch and half-way into the introductory scene, he sweetly asks Benni to get two cans of cola for the two of them from the fridge.

Benni sighs but gets up from the couch and comes back with two cans. A _Mats_ one and a _Philipp_ one.

Okay, Mats thinks, maybe he imagined the pattern and he can continue a carefree life without thinking about cola every single day and just silently crushing on Benni without excuses.

Benni, however, apparently doesn’t give a shit about granting Mats a carefree life and hands Mats the can that says _Philipp_. Keeps the _Mats_ one for himself.

Mats lets his head fall back against the couch and groans. Why, why, why.

Next to him, Benni sighs in satisfaction after taking a sip and sets the can onto the couch between his thighs.

Mats _fucking_ snaps.

He grabs the remote to switch off the movie and throws it across the room.

“What the fuck. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Doing. Benedikt. Höwedes!?” Mats says through gritted teeth and glares at Benni.

Benni almost chokes on the drink.

“Uh,” he mumbles, like it’s a question, “what are you talking about?”

Mats huffs, gets up from the couch and drags Benni with him by his shirt so that they’re facing each other and Mats pretends like he can tower over Benni.

“You. The coke. My name.” Mats says and points at all three things, one of after another, breathing quickly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Benni tries but there’s definitely a glint of recognition in his eyes and his lips twitch. Oooh, so they’re getting somewhere here.

“I want to know what you think you’re doing. You can’t tell me it’s coincidence that you always choose my name. Don’t even try.”

Mats watches Benni intently and wonders how Benni can’t hear his heart almost burst out of his chest.

Benni’s voice is soft when he speaks and he looks directly into Mats’ eyes.

“Do you think I’ve been knocking back this liquefied sugar because it gives me the kicks? I always feel like a squirrel on steroids afterwards. But bee boy can’t take a hint apparently.”

Mats nearly opens his mouth to get angry before he can process the last sentence. His jaw drops for other reasons then and he has to redirect his thoughts.

“Bee boy?”

“Shut up.” Benni looks away, risks a short glance at Mats, then he looks away again. Mats can definitely see him blush. _Success_.

“Bee boy, “ Mats repeats and has to admit he almost likes the phrase. When Benni says it.

For a moment, neither of them says anything, then Mats clears his throat.

“That has to be the dumbest wooing plan anyone in the entire world has ever had.”

“Well, you noticed, didn’t you?” Benni answers but his shoulders slump just a little and that’s a sight that Mats can’t bear to see.

“I literally sucked off a can of coke in front of you and you didn’t react so yeah, maybe I’m the more attentive one of the two of us.” Mats says smugly and Benni replies by boxing him in the shoulder softly.

“Hey,” Benni says, acting affronted but Mats could sell a photo of him for the definition of heart-eyes.

“Can I kiss you?” Mats asks and carefully lifts his hand to Benni’s cheek where he runs his thumb over Benni’s soft blond stubble.

Benni nods and grins and in the end it’s probably more him kissing Mats then the other way around anyway.

The kiss tastes like Coca Cola and Mats had never loved soft drinks more. He’s never loved Benni more, either.

 _The Coke Side of Life_ , alright.

**Author's Note:**

> 1) I don't get paid by Coca Cola? Sort of inspired by [this](http://fcslayern.tumblr.com/post/104344217085/picture-credit-one-night-in-rio-paul-ripke).  
> 2) I was gone for over a month but I hope this makes up for it, along with the Secret Santa fic that I'm going to post on 24th December. Yay!  
> 3) This fic was written in less than one day and I wanted it to be an AU at first but then I thought it wouldn't make sense that way. Only afterwards I realised that it might in fact have made more sense. On that note: disregard facts, respect fun.  
> 4) I'm on [twitter](https://twitter.com/anexactscience)!


End file.
